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• The Celebration Tour

The Celebration Tour Returns to the U.S. in December

by MadonnaTribe · January 26, 2023

Madonna adds fifth and sixth shows in New York and Los Angeles to her colossal The Celebration Tour , returning to New York on Wednesday, December 13th, 2023 and Thursday, December 14th, 2023 , this time in Brooklyn, NY at Barclays Center. She will then perform two more shows in LA, taking place Sunday, January 7th 2024 and Monday, January 8th, 2024 at Kia Forum.

Madonna, the best-selling female solo touring artist of all time, announced that The Celebration Tour has sold-out 36 shows and counting across Toronto, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and more, with over 600,000 tickets sold.

Due to overwhelming demand, 28 new dates were added last week across North America and Europe. The global run now includes second shows in Miami, Las Vegas, Milan, Barcelona and more as well as three nights in Paris, five nights in London and six nights in New York and Los Angeles, with multiple added dates already sold-out.

The Celebration Tour will kick off on Saturday, July 15th at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC with stops in Phoenix, Seattle, Denver, and more before making its way to Europe where she will perform in 11 cities throughout the fall, including Antwerp, Copenhagen, and Stockholm, among others. She will then return to the U.S. for the additional dates in New York and LA.

Following Madonna’s viral video that announced the tour earlier last week, the response has been outstanding, with fans looking forward to seeing the best-selling female solo touring artist of all time perform her unmatched catalog of music from the past 40 plus years in a live setting. Building off the excitement of last week’s announcement, Madonna has turned directly to her fanbase as she builds out her Celebration Tour setlist, asking her fans “What song would you like to dance to at my show?” on her social platforms.

The Celebration Tour will offer a one-of-a-kind experience with special guest Bob the Drag Queen a.k.a. Caldwell Tidicue across all dates on the global tour.

Tickets for the newly announced New York and LA dates go on sale Monday, January 30th 2023 at 10am local time at madonna.com .

Legacy members of Madonna’s Official Fan Club will have a pre-sale opportunity starting Friday, January 27th at 10am local time through Saturday, January 28th at 5pm local time.

Citi is the official card of Madonna The Celebration Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets starting Friday, January 27th at 10am local time through Saturday, January 28th at 5pm local time. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com.

Fans can also purchase VIP Packages, which may include premium tickets, exclusive access to a behind the scenes tour, group photo on-stage, pre-show reception, limited edition lithograph & more. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

Click here for the updated tour itinerary.

Tags: Live in LA Live in NYC The Celebration Tour

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Madonna’s Celebration Tour Dazzles With Hits, Surrealistic Visuals, and Reminders of Our Mortality

• By Kory Grow

“It’s so great to be home … I mean that in a way that only New Yorkers know,” Madonna , who adopted New York as her hometown in 1978, told the Brooklyn audience present for the North American kickoff of her Celebration Tour on Wednesday. “New Yorkers can identify with just-not-giving-a-fuck motherfuckers. We do shit our way. New York is not for little pussies who sleep.”

Madonna certainly wasn’t tired, and that was the point of the whole show, a tour de force of some of her biggest hits paired with surrealistic visuals that didn’t end until 1 a.m.

Throughout the night, dancers took the stage dressed as her during various points of her career — club kid Madonna, ice-cream-cone bra Madonna, BDSM “Human Nature” Madonna — making the show something like This Is Your Life for the Material Girl, who, at 65, is still two years shy of collecting full Social Security benefits. Several times during the performance she expressed just how happy she was to be there, and, well, anywhere. It’s why she performed Confessions on a Dance Floor’s “I Love New York” for the first time in 15 years on electric guitar before shredding her way through “Burning Up” with rare abandon.

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The celebration in the tour’s name simply denotes the fact that Madonna is here, especially since she acknowledged throughout the show so many peers who have died in various ways: Prince, Michael Jackson, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat among them. Screens bearing black-and-white images of dozens if not hundreds of notable people who died of AIDS, from Robert Mapplethorpe to Eazy-E, accompanied by her moving rendition of “Live to Tell.” It would’ve felt like an awards show’s farewell montage if the rest of the concert weren’t so joyous.

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The orgy began with erotic boxing in laser-banded rings, as Madonna sang “Erotica,” and it congealed into a mass of people for “Justify My Love.” She just climbed right in and gave out kisses. For “Hung Up,” topless women and men came out and teased her until she kissed one of the women, all leading her to climb on Mercy’s grand piano to sing “Bad Girl.” (How intimidating must it be to have your mom be Madonna singing next to you and then mounting your instrument in a red satin negligee like it’s a seedy cabaret?)

The 14,000-strong, sold-out audience, which was a broad mix of genders, races, and sexualities, many of whom were wearing “Italians Do It Better” T-shirts (how Brooklyn!), seemed stunned by the spectacle. Shouldn’t everyone have been dancing and making out during “Erotica”? And in the fourth act, shouldn’t everyone have been striking a pose during Madonna’s ebullient “Vogue,” a song that found Madonna and one of her crew members (and love interest), boxing coach Josh Popper, grading her dancers’ (and one of her daughters, Estere’s) vogues like Dancing With the Stars ? Instead, most of the crowd seemed to just take in the concert, possibly because they knew it was a special occasion or possibly because it was approaching midnight on a Wednesday. The appreciative crowd still cheered for every song, though.

Madonna lifted the mood with Music ‘s “Don’t Tell Me,” in which she battled the evening’s occasional MC, Bob the Drag Queen, who was dressed like a cowboy with a cow print hat. Before singing Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” on her acoustic guitar, she pleaded for peace in the Middle East, asking the audience to turn on its cellphone flashlights. “Each and every one of us have a light inside of us,” she said. “And each and every one of us can share that light with the with the person standing next to you … even the people you don’t like. Be counterintuitive. Share your light with someone you don’t want to share your light with.… Keep your lights on when you leave here tonight.” And then she recapitulated the evening’s theme in “I Will Survive”: “Did you think I’d crumble, did you think I’d lay down and die … Did you? ” she asks pointedly.

The final two acts served as something like Madonna’s statements of intent — to provoke, to enrich, to confound. After a montage of all her controversies, Madonna, in voice-over, said, “I think the most controversial thing I’ve ever done is to stick around.” And then she sings three songs that exist on different planes from each other: the surrealistic “Bedtime Story,” the lysergic dance song “Ray of Light” (which she sings floating in a giant cube over the audience), and the down-to-earth “Rain.”

She capped these songs with the intro to the final act that focused on her sometime friendship with Michael Jackson. It was long and strange and mashes up “Billie Jean” with “Like a Virgin” (which she did not sing), and the only explanation for why she made it is in the title of the next song, “Bitch I’m Madonna,” which is the other message of the whole evening: “Bitch, I’m Madonna/Who do you think you are?” (That self-assuredness is also the only explanation why she skipped “Borderline,” “Dress You Up,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” and “Frozen.”) Her troupe, dressed like a thousand different Madonnas from pop-music history, danced to the song, and the night ended quickly with “Celebration” and a “Thank you, Brooklyn” before she disappeared into the stage.

Madonna Set List:

“Nothing Really Matters” “Everybody” “Into the Groove” “I Love New York” “Burning Up” “Open Your Heart” “Holiday”

“Live to Tell” “Like a Prayer”

“Erotica” “Justify My Love” “Hung Up” “Bad Girl”

“Vogue” “Human Nature” “Crazy for You”

“Die Another Day” “Don’t Tell Me” “Mother and Father” “I Will Survive” “La Isla Bonita” “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”

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“Bitch I’m Madonna” “Celebration”

I went to The Celebration Tour for the 1st time tonight in Brooklyn. Despite me seeing many pics, videos, & reviews beforehand, I was blown away. Madonna & the show were everything & so much more. If you’re unsure about going, just GOOOOO! Cherish Madonna & give her flowers! pic.twitter.com/sofCHV1DWU — Madonna Nation ❌ (@MadonnaNationX) December 14, 2023

Holiday // Madonna @ Barclays, The Celebration Tour #MadonnaCelebrationTour #Madonna @Madonna pic.twitter.com/wz7RCtQgIu — ethan jon (@ethanjon) December 14, 2023

Into the Groove // Madonna @ Barclays … The Celebration Tour #MadonnaCelebrationTour #Madonna @Madonna pic.twitter.com/sDWjVfm4aJ — ethan jon (@ethanjon) December 14, 2023

MADONNA PERFORMED I LOVE NEW YORK!!!! pic.twitter.com/gNgkRik3Gl — saint gregory (@repressedhomo) December 14, 2023

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Madonna Announces 2023 Tour of North America and Europe

By Jazz Monroe

Madonna has set the dates for her Celebration Tour, a huge stint across North America and Europe starting this July. Below, check out the dates, along with a Nuno Xico –directed announcement video, which plays on the 1991 Madonna documentary Truth or Dare . In the clip, Lil Wayne, Eric André, Jack Black, Judd Apatow, Diplo, Kate Berlant, Larry Owens, Meg Stalter, and more join her for a dinner party, where Amy Schumer dares her to plot a tour of career-spanning shows.

Bob the Drag Queen, who also stars in the video, will support Madonna across the daters. In a press release, Madonna said, “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for.”

Read Pitchfork’s page-by-page guide to the best Madonna books and revisit the retrospective reviews of her debut , Like a Prayer , Bedtime Stories , and Ray of Light .

All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

07-15 Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena 07-18 Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena 07-19 Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena 07-22 Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center 07-25 Denver, CO - Ball Arena 07-27 Tulsa, OK - BOK Center 07-30 Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center 08-02 Cleveland, OH - Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse 08-05 Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena 08-07 Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena 08-09 Chicago, IL - United Center 08-10 Chicago, IL - United Center 08-13 Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena 08-14 Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena 08-19 Montreal, Quebec - Centre Bell 08-20 Montreal, Quebec - Centre Bell 08-23 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden 08-24 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden 08-26 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden 08-30 Boston, MA - TD Garden 08-31 Boston, MA - TD Garden 09-02 Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena 09-05 Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena 09-07 Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena 09-09 Miami, FL - Miami-Dade Arena 09-10 Miami, FL - Miami-Dade Arena 09-13 Houston, TX - Toyota Center 09-14 Houston, TX - Toyota Center 09-18 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center 09-19 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center 09-21 Austin, TX - Moody Center ATX 09-22 Austin, TX - Moody Center ATX 09-27 Los Angeles, CA - Crypto.com Arena 09-28 Los Angeles, CA - Crypto.com Arena 10-04 San Francisco, CA - Chase Center 10-05 San Francisco, CA - Chase Center 10-07 Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena 10-08 Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena 10-14 London, England - The O2 10-15 London, England - The O2 10-21 Antwerp, Belgium - Sportpaleis 10-25 Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena 10-28 Stockholm, Sweden - Tele2 11-01 Barcelona, Spain - Palau Sant Jordi 11-06 Lisbon, Portugal - Altice Arena 11-12 Paris, France - Accor Arena 11-13 Paris, France - Accor Arena 11-15 Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena 11-23 Milan, Italy - Mediolanum Forum 11-28 Berlin, Germany - Mercedes-Benz Arena 12-01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome 12-13 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center 12-14 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center 01-07 Inglewood, CA - Kia Forum 01-08 Inglewood, CA - Kia Forum

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Madonna’s Latest Experiment: Looking Back

Her Celebration Tour is the pop superstar’s first retrospective, one which thematically explores her past and perhaps offers a glimpse of how she will chart her future.

By Caryn Ganz

For 40 years, evolution, rebellion and resilience have been Madonna’s hallmarks , but forward momentum is her life force. She’s been pop music’s premier shark, operating in near perpetual motion: Why would she pause to bask or look back, and risk losing oxygen?

So there are understandable touches of both defiance and reluctance to the Celebration Tour , her first road show devoted to hits rather than a new album. The retrospective began its North American leg at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday night with all the classic trappings of a Madonna spectacle. But unlike her 11 prior tours of this scale, this one was haunted by ghosts — some invited, and some who crashed the party.

The set list began with a moment of birth — not the start of Madonna’s career, but the arrival of her first child — via “Nothing Really Matters,” a song from her 1998 album, “Ray of Light,” about how parenthood rearranges priorities. The anachronism was a table-setter: If Celebration recounts her life story, its arc was animated by her experiences of losing her mother and becoming one, herself. “Never forget where you came from,” she instructed a dancer who served as an avatar for her younger self, whom she then gave a maternal hug.

The first part of the concert, which was divided into seven chapters, was its most carefree (“Everybody,” “Holiday,” “Open Your Heart”). But the joy was built on struggle. Before Madonna took the stage, the night’s M.C., Bob the Drag Queen, reminded the crowd that the singer came to New York City from Detroit with $35 in her pocket and scattered faux bills.

Decked out in a teal corset, a black miniskirt and a jacket adorned with chains, Madonna, 65, conjured some of the gritty energy of the late-1970s downtown scene where she first found like-minded creative spirits. It was a relief to be back, she said with a barrage of f-bombs, as she strapped on an electric guitar for a power-chord-heavy version of “I Love New York” blended with “Burning Up.” Vintage photos of CBGB , where she played one of her earliest gigs, lit up on the screen behind her.

Glee was soon tempered by devastation: The community of artists who gave Madonna a home was decimated by AIDS, and she presented “Live to Tell” as a powerful tribute . Screens suspended around the stage, which stretched nearly the length of the floor on a series of runways, at first displayed single faces. The images then multiplied, demonstrating the scale of the epidemic. There were simply too many tales to tell.

Over two-plus hours, Madonna resisted the simplest routes to depicting her own story. After the first section, the concert was only loosely chronological, leaning instead toward themes: her bold sexuality (“Erotica,” staged in a boxing ring, and “Justify My Love,” staged as a near orgy); her search for love (a salacious “Hung Up,” and the fan favorite “Bad Girl”); her rugged defiance (the perennial cowboy-themed standout “Don’t Tell Me”). She peppered the show with references to previous tours and videos, but skipped obvious choices (“Papa Don’t Preach,” “Express Yourself”) in favor of the glitchy 007 theme “Die Another Day” and a pointed acoustic cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”

The show’s most spectacular number was “Like a Prayer,” which she sang on a dramatic spinning carousel that held shirtless dancers striking poses that mimicked Christ's crucifixion. The remix’s propulsive bass provided tension, and a quick cut to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s “Unholy” underscored the original track’s enduring influence.

Madonna has always fixed her sights on what’s next, but the artists who have followed her have chosen different paths. This year alone, two women decades her junior turned yesteryear into big business: Taylor Swift has been delving into her prior album cycles onstage, and Beyoncé played stadium shows inspired by styles of dance music that date back before her birth.

Madonna has never before indulged in nostalgia, and at this concert, it was clear why. In the ’80s she was rewiring expectations for what a pop career could accomplish. In the ’90s, she was testing how explicitly she could express her desires. In the 2000s, she was finding fresh freedom on the dance floor. In the 2010s, she was bringing new voices into her orbit. But on a tour celebrating the past, it’s impossible to ignore the passage of time. There is less future stretched out before Madonna now, and it’s unclear how she will reckon with it.

Until recently, her groundbreaking career was a demonstration of seemingly impossible physical strength. But near the end of the 2020 theater shows supporting her last studio album, “Madame X,” serious injuries took a toll. Madonna’s once inexhaustible body failed her just days before the Celebration Tour was scheduled to start in July, and she was hospitalized with an infection.

At Barclays, she let her dancers do much of the heavy lifting, though she still handled choreography — mostly in heels — for the majority of the show. At times, skipping down the runway with her blonde hair flying behind, she looked like the carefree upstart who flipped the pop world on its head. At others, a hair behind the beat, she looked like a stage veteran who has endured decades of punishing physical labor.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it this summer, but here I am,” she told the crowd early on. She saved space in the show for those who didn’t: In a curious tribute to Michael Jackson, a silhouette of the two superstars dancing together was projected as a mix of “Billie Jean” and “Like a Virgin” played. Someone dressed like Prince mimed soloing on one of his signature guitars at the end of “Like a Prayer.” And, movingly, Madonna honored her son David’s birth mother alongside her own when he joined her for “Mother and Father.”

David strummed a guitar to that melancholy song from “American Life” as well as to “La Isla Bonita”; her daughter Mercy accompanied her on a grand piano for “Bad Girl.” But otherwise, Madonna eschewed a band for this tour, instead using tracks edited by her longtime collaborator Stuart Price. The choice removed some of the theater of the show and put extra pressure on Madonna’s vocals, which started out raspy and occasionally strained. (For what it’s worth, the crowd didn’t hit the high notes of “Crazy for You,” either.)

Madonna, long a noted perfectionist, seemed looser and chattier throughout the night. Several pauses to address the audience were dotted throughout the set, and she was elated during a playful tribute to the ballroom scene she spotlighted in “Vogue,” which featured her 11-year-old daughter Estere owning the catwalk. For “Ray of Light,” Madonna looked like she had a blast dancing in the confines of the rectangular lift that ferried her above the crowd.

Madonna has long known the power of video, and the most effective encapsulation of her impact came in a montage before the show’s penultimate act that stitched together headlines and news reports about her unparalleled ability to shock the world. “The most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around,” she said in a 2016 speech highlighting how she’s continually had to battle the twin scourges of sexism and ageism.

New Yorkers, she noted onstage, don’t like to be told what to do. But perhaps finally pausing to look back has showed her another path forward: her well-earned legacy era. “Something is ending,” she sang in “Nothing Really Matters” as she swooped around the stage alone, “and something begins.”

Caryn Ganz is The Times’s pop music editor. More about Caryn Ganz

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Madonna announces north american and european dates for 2023 celebration tour.

The superstar will explore her musical journey across four decades through concerts announced in a video featuring Amy Schumer, Lil Wayne, Kate Berlant, Jack Black, Judd Apatow, Eric Andre, Diplo and more.

By Abbey White

Abbey White

Associate Editor & News Writer

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Madonna announced dates for her Celebration Tour on Tuesday with the help of some Hollywood friends.

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The tour will kick off this July in Vancouver and end in December in Amsterdam, spanning 35 cities in total across North America and Europe. Other major stops during the first leg include Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami and Los Angeles, with 11 additional dates outside North America — in London, Barcelona, Paris and Stockholm, among others — slated for the fall and early winter.

Produced by Live Nation and featuring Bob the Drag Queen (Caldwell Tidicue) at all dates on the tour, the music event will honor Madonna’s musical journey across four decades with a special celebration of New York, the city where her career began. “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” Madonna said in a statement included in her tour announcement .

Celebration Tour tickets go on sale at madonna.com/tour starting Friday at 10 a.m. local time. U.S. Citi cardmembers, European and Canadian AMEX cardmembers as well as Legacy members of Madonna’s official fan club will have access to separate presales. VIP packages — featuring premium tickets, exclusive access to a behind-the-scenes tour, a group photo onstage, a pre-show reception, a limited edition lithograph and more — will also be available at vipnation.com . 

The Celebration tour arrives nearly 40 years after Madonna’s 1985 North American Virgin Tour. Madonna last toured in 2019 and early 2020 as part of her Madame X theater tour.

More on the Celebration tour, including its dates and presales, can be found at madonna.com .

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Madonna Finally Kicks Off Celebration World Tour In London  

By Eve Batey

It was a stressful summer for Madonna fans. Just weeks before her 78-stop career-retrospective Celebration World Tour was set to kick off in North America, the singer was rushed to a New York City hospital for a severe bacterial infection that prompted her to cancel that continent’s dates . But the 65-year-old icon and mother of six isn’t known as the hardest-working woman in show business for nothing, and on Saturday, she reclaimed the stage to rave reviews.

Madonna’s stop at London’s 20,000-seat O2 arena had been on the books since tour plans began, but when her health scare paused her Celebration schedule, Oct. 14 became its de facto kickoff date. This is her 13th tour, and her first since 2020; as the name promises, it’s intended as a celebration of her four decades of hits. An opening-night set list captured by Billboard suggests that the show lived up to its name: early songs like “Holiday” and “Burning Up,” career highs such as “Like a Prayer” and Vogue,” and 2000s-era entries like “Music” and “Bitch I’m Madonna” all made an appearance.

Of course, fans had to wait a bit to hear those hits. Technical difficulties meant the show was delayed by 30 minutes, the New York Times reports . Four songs in, yet another delay, prompting Madonna to say, “This is exactly what you don’t want to happen on your opening night, so this wasn’t planned. I’m sorry,” AFP reports . 

While her crew worked to restore order, she regaled the crowd with some early-career anecdotes, including her days of housing struggles. “I had no way to take a bath,” she said of her younger days in New York. “So I would actually date men who had showers and bathrooms. Those were the days, and that is the truth.”

“I’m pretty damned surprised that I made it this far, and I mean that on so many levels. How did I make it this far? Because of you. I’m going to take a bit of credit, too.”

She also addressed her June health crisis, saying, “It was a crazy year for me and I didn’t think I was going to make it. I forgot five days of my life.”

“But the angels were protecting me and my children were there and my children always save me every time. And if you want to know a secret as to how I survived, I thought, ‘I have to survive for them. I have to survive for my children.’”

The hotly-anticipated show was met by critical praise—not a given for the star, who noted Saturday that “To age is to sin. I think the most controversial thing I’ve done is to stick around.” According to The Independent’s critic, Helen Brown , “I’ve sat through a couple of Madonna’s more robotic stadium shows in the past, feeling as though I was bearing witness to a seven-figure PowerPoint presentation from Brand Madonna. But at 65, the woman who once sang of wanting to “conquer and deliver and despise” the world has a renewed appetite for human connection.”

Writing for the BBC , Mark Savage says that Madonna “looked and sounded incredible throughout, moving from one elaborate set-piece to the next with conviction and power.” Variety’s Mark Sutherland agrees, writing, “Madonna still doesn’t know how to quit, boy, has she learned how to come back.”

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Madonna sued as fans allege they were subjected to 'pornography without warning' at singer's concert

A group of fans sued Madonna for "purposely and deceptively" marketing "The Celebration Tour." 

Justen Lipeles filed the class action suit, obtained by Fox News Digital, in Los Angeles on May 29. The lawsuit claims Madonna, along with her promoters, "lulled" concertgoers into purchasing "expensive tickets" for a concert atmosphere they did not get to experience.

Madonna had topless women dancing on stage while she sang, "subjecting [the fans] to pornography without warning," according to the court documents.

MADONNA SUED BY FANS AGAIN AFTER STARTING CONCERT LATE

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the concertgoers experienced a "hot and uncomfortable temperature" while Madonna "would lip sync" her performances.

"Forcing consumer to wait hours in hot, uncomfortable arenas and subjecting them to pornography without warning is demonstrative of Madonna’s flippant disrespect for her fans," court documents stated.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to a representative for Madonna.

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This is not Madonna's first lawsuit from fans. The "Material Girl" singer has been sued a handful of times, specifically for starting her concerts later than advertised. Madonna routinely seems to take the stage after 10 p.m., although tickets to "The Celebration Tour" note the concert begins at 8 p.m.

A group of fans who attended the pop star's Washington, D.C., concerts on April 18 and 19 sued Madonna for "wanton exercise in false advertising, intentional and negligent misrepresentation and unfair and deceptive trade practices," according to the complaint obtained by Fox News Digital.

She was previously sued in New York by Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden for "unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices" after starting her "Celebration Tour" Brooklyn stop late.

"Madonna had demonstrated flippant difficulty in ensuring a timely or complete performance, and Defendants were aware that any statement as to a start time for a show constituted, at best, optimistic speculation," the lawsuit, obtained by Fox News Digital, alleged.

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Madonna's legal team has since filed a motion to dismiss the New York class action suit.

In a court filing obtained by Fox News Digital, Madonna’s lawyers argued the plaintifs' claims of having to "get up early to go to work" after the concert ended after 1 a.m. is not an "injury" worthy of damages. 

"Plaintiffs speculate that ticketholders who left the venue after 1 a.m. might have had trouble getting a ride home or might have needed to wake up early the next day for work," Madonna’s dismissal motion stated. "That is not a cognizable injury." 

Madonna's "Celebration Tour," which also marked her 40-year anniversary in the entertainment industry, was postponed in July 2023 after the star suffered a "serious bacterial infection" that required an ICU stay in June.

She eventually took the stage in December following her recovery.

Original article source: Madonna sued as fans allege they were subjected to 'pornography without warning' at singer's concert

Madonna Fan Sues Singer for Allegedly Forcing Concertgoers to Watch 'Sexual Acts' During Celebration Tour

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Madonna has been hit with another lawsuit just after wrapping her Celebration Tour earlier this month. 

Concertgoer Justen Lipeles is suing the 65-year-old singer, along with Live Nation and four California concert venues, according to court documents filed Wednesday in Los Angeles and obtained by ET. Lipeles is alleging that Madonna subjected audiences to "pornography without warning," such as "topless women on stage simulating sex acts" in an uncomfortable, sweltering environment. He also claims that she demanded the air conditioning be turned off and he became physically ill in the heat.

Additionally, Lipeles claims that Madonna lip-synced her performance and that it began after 10 p.m., more than an hour after the advertised 8:30 p.m. start time. This after Madonna was  previously sued over an alleged late start for her show in Brooklyn, New York, earlier this year. 

Lipeles is claiming negligent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false advertising, and breach of written contract during Madonna's Kia Forum stop in Los Angeles, California, on March 7. 

In addition to Madonna and Live Nation, Forum Entertainment, Kia Forum, Acrisure Arena, the Golden 1 Center and Chase Center were also named as defendants since Lipeles claims that all of the performer's California concerts began late. 

A representative for Madonna could not be reached for comment. Acrisure Arena also told ET that they have "no comment at this time."

In a statement to ET, Lipeles' attorneys at Lipeles Law Group said that the plaintiff had brought his 11-year-old sister to the concert. 

"Imagine taking your 11-year-old daughter to a pop concert," the statement read. "When in the middle of the concert, the women on stage remove their tops and are completely topless. They then begin to act out sexual situations including cunnilingus, and digital penetration amongst other pornographic type situations. This is with absolutely no warning to anyone who is offended by this type of content, and especially those who bring children to the concert." 

The statement continued,  "Justen brought his 11-year-old sister, who was shocked. Additionally, for many hours everyone was forced to sit in what felt like a sauna. This was no accident, Madonna insisted that the AC stay off and when people in the crowd complained, she said she is not turning the AC on and if they didn't like it, they should take their clothes off.  People were physically in discomfort and sweating like crazy. In other words, people paid thousands of dollars to sit and suffer while watching live porn, including kids, with no warning." 

Lipeles' attorneys also noted that they are "in the process of slightly amending the complaint."

While this is not the first time Madonna has been accused of a late start , her lawyers, Live Nation and Barclays Center have previously said that it is not "reasonable" for concertgoers to predict anticipated show start and end times regardless of what is printed on the event tickets. 

"Reasonable concert goers also know that concert lengths vary based on numerous factors," they stated in a previously-filed document in response to a separate complaint in New York. 

Madonna, 65, kicked off her Celebration Tour in October 2023 amid delays as she recovered from a near-fatal viral infection .

She recently took her final bow on May 4 in historic fashion as she  broke the record for the largest audience  for a standalone concert by any artist at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Madonna's free show was attended by 1.6 million fans. 

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Madonna Fan Files Lawsuit Accusing Her of Exposing Concertgoers to 'Pornography Without Warning' at Shows

In the class action suit, the fan claims Madonna and Live Nation "purposely and deceptively withheld" information about her concerts

Matthew Rettenmund / SplashNews

• Madonna is being sued by another fan over her Celebration World Tour
• Justen Lipeles' lawsuit alleges that concertgoers were "forced to watch topless women" simulate "sexual acts" onstage, "subjecting them to pornography without warning"
• A rep for Madonna has not commented on the lawsuit

Madonna is being sued by a fan who claims he was "deceived" by her Celebration World Tour.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Justen Lipeles filed a class action suit against the “Hung Up” singer, 65, in California on Thursday, May 30, that alleges the Queen of Pop and her promoter Live Nation “lulled” concertgoers into buying “expensive tickets” to her Celebration Tour shows held in February and March that “purposely and deceptively” withheld information in its marketing.

The plaintiff in the court complaint claims Madonna and Live Nation failed to inform ticket purchasers that the singer’s scheduled shows at four California venues would not start on time “as promised,” instead having to wait until after 10 p.m. for concerts to begin.

The filing also accuses the pop star of maintaining a “hot and uncomfortable temperature” during her performances, which the fan claims she “would lip-synch much of.”

Forum Entertainment, Kia Forum, Acrisure Arena, the Golden 1 Center and Chase Center were named in the lawsuit alongside Madonna and Live Nation.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The lawsuit also alleges that concertgoers were “forced to watch topless women” simulate “sexual acts” onstage during Madonna’s shows, “subjecting them to pornography without warning.” 

Throughout her career, Madonna has maintained a sex-positive environment, with shows including erotic dancing, some NSFW touching, and even lap dances, as evidenced with Maluma and Ricky Martin, most recently.

The May complaint against Madonna accuses the music icon of having engaged in “unfair, unlawful, deceptive business practices” that demonstrated her “flippant disrespect for her fans.”

Per the documents, plaintiffs are suing the "Like a Virgin" singer and the listed parties for unspecified damages for breach of written contract, negligent misrepresentation, emotional distress, unfair competition and false advertising.

A rep for Madonna has not commented on the lawsuit.

Kevin Mazur/Getty

In January, Madonna was sued by two fans who accused her of starting another concert on her Celebration Tour late at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, claiming “false advertising” for beginning a scheduled 8:30 p.m. concert at 10:30 p.m. Live Nation was also named in the lawsuit.

Three months after the filing, Madonna’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the two fans’ claims , claiming their accusations were not justified.  

"Nowhere did Defendants advertise that Madonna would take the stage at 8.30 p.m., and no reasonable concertgoer — and certainly no Madonna fan — would expect the headline act at a major arena concert to take the stage at the ticketed event time,” the star’s lawyers stated, per court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

The attorneys added, "Rather, a reasonable concertgoer would understand that the venue’s doors will open at or before the ticketed time, one or more opening acts may perform while attendees arrive and make their way to their seats and before the headline act takes the stage, and the headline act will take the stage later in the evening.”

Marcus Corwin, the two fans’ attorney, previously told PEOPLE that his clients would file a response to Madonna's motion to dismiss the lawsuit within 30 days. "We believe our response will address the issues raised in the MTD and that when the Court is fully briefed, we will be able to proceed with this action and obtain compensation for those ticket holders seeking refunds," he said.

After the January lawsuit, Live Nation issued a statement to PEOPLE, saying, "Madonna's just completed, sold out 2023 Celebration Tour in Europe received rave reviews. The shows opened in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn as planned, with the exception of a technical issue December 13th during soundcheck. This caused a delay that was well-documented in press reports at the time. We intend to defend this case vigorously.”

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6 Things in Madonna’s Celebration Tour That Someone Will Probably Find Too Sexual

Madonna ’s Celebration Tour, which wrapped May 4, is making news once again after a concertgoer filed a lawsuit alleging the show forced him to view what he called sexually explicit content.

Concertgoer Justen Lipeles alleged in court documents obtained by Entertainment Weekly that the audience was subjected to “pornography without warning,” including “topless women on stage simulating sex acts.”

After experiencing Madonna’s March 7 show at The Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, Lipeles accused the Grammy winner of intentional infliction of emotional distress and false advertising.

While Madonna, 65, has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, the artist has been known (and celebrated for) pushing cultural boundaries during her career. For more than 40 years, Madonna has explored sex, sexuality, gender, religion and more in her music, videos and live performances beginning with her first No. 1 1984 single “Like a Virgin.” Her provocative 1990 video for “Justify My Love” was also briefly banned by MTV for its sexual concert — let’s not forget her 1992 album Erotica and a related sexually explicit coffee table book literally entitled Sex.

Related: '90s Pop Stars: Then and Now

Although Madonna’s tour recently wrapped earlier this month with 1.1 million tickets reportedly sold over 80 shows, there’s still time to relive some of the most buzzworthy concert moments. Keep reading to see some memories that could be too sexy for some.

Madonna’s Tour Fashion

Sheer bodysuits, slip dresses, an infamous cone bra (a callback to her Jean-Paul Gaultier looks from 1990’s Blonde Ambition Tour) and knee-length, lace-up heeled boots were just some of the pieces Madonna pulled off wearing during her latest tour.  “Fashion has always been a part of her storytelling,” costume and creative designer Eyob Yohannes told Vogue in October 2023. “We drew from her past stylistically, and we kept those themes within the costumes.”

Madonna’s “Vogue” Performance

During every show, Madonna allowed special guests, most of them fellow celebs, to judge the “Vogue” dance-off that celebrated Madge’s 1990 single of the same name and the New York City underground ballroom scene that inspired it. During a Miami concert stop in April, special guest Ricky Martin was able to witness sensual grinding and other NSFW moves from Madonna’s dancers, one of them clad in just a g-string. The concert moment proved to be so exciting that multiple outlets , citing social media footage of his appearance, questioned if the “She Bangs” singer had an erection on stage.

Madonna’s NSFW Sex Jokes

Back in October 2023, Billboard was able to witness Madonna’s show at the O2 Arena in London. During the concert, the singer had some stories to share with the audience.  She began reminiscing about her early days in New York where she used to “date men who had showers” when she was living in her band’s rehearsal space. After the story, she summed it up saying, “So yes, blow jobs for showers. I can see that headline already. Well, we all have a past.”

Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” Performance

According to Billboard , Madonna cuddled up to a dancer during her performance of the 1986 hit song. Guiding the dancer’s hand to her crotch, Madge reportedly simulated getting pleasured by her past self while music played in the background. That moment was a callback to an infamous “Like a Virgin” sequence during 1990’s Blonde Ambition Tour, in which Madonna’s simulated masturbation almost landed her in a Toronto jail (for alleged indecency) and, in Rome, led to a protest from the Pope and the Vatican.

Madonna’s Revealing Dancers

Madonna wasn’t the only performer having fun onstage. Throughout the show, her talented dancers grabbed the attention of concertgoers with their moves and revealing outfits. Specifically during “Like a Prayer,” Madge’s shirtless male dancers wore leather masks as they moved around a rotating zoetrope. As the saying goes: If you miss a minute, you miss a lot at Madonna’s shows.

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Madonna’s Erotica Era

When paying tribute to her 1992 album, Madonna wasn’t afraid to get a little raunchy and remind people she was pushing for sex positivity years ago. While dancing with one of many masked versions of her younger self, Madge simulated masturbation as she sat, legs spread, in a red negligé.

This isn’t the first lawsuit Madonna has faced regarding her shows. In January, two concert attendees accused Madonna, promoter Live Nation and a venue of “unconscionable, unfair and/or deceptive trade practices” by listing 8:30 p.m. as the start time when the singer didn’t take the stage until “between 10:45 and 11:00 p.m.”  

In response to the suit, Live Nation and Madonna’s longtime manager, Guy Oseary , told CNN “we intend to defend this case vigorously .” During her 2019 Madame X Tour, Madonna was also sued multiple times for starting concerts late.

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Bob the Drag Queen Is Bringing the Laughs With Upcoming This Is Wild! Comedy Tour

The RuPaul's Drag Race winner will begin touring her new show starting in September.

By Stephen Daw

Stephen Daw

Pride Editor

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After touring the world as Madonna’s emcee, drag star Bob the Drag Queen is ready to get back on the road with a show of his own.

Love Letters to the LGBTQ Community: Read the Notes From Doechii, UMI, Allison Ponthier…

On Tuesday (June 4), the Drag Race winner announced his new comedy tour, the This Is Wild! World Tour. Set to take place this fall, Bob’s new show will kick off the 35-date North American leg of the tour in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 18, before heading to cities including Seattle, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, before closing out the show at the Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Nov. 15.

Trending on Billboard

Bob spent the last year on the road with Madonna for her Celebration World Tour , serving as the emcee for her decades-spanning setlist. Speaking to Billboard in 2023 before the tour started, Bob said that working with the pop legend had already proven to be a validating experience. “She respects me in a way that doesn’t feel like a novelty,” he said. “Obviously, what matters most is how I feel about myself, but  still , a stamp of approval from Madonna is just like … ‘What?!'”

Check out the full list of dates for the North American leg of Bob the Drag Queen’s This Is Wild! World Tour below:

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